Mare due ?? position of foal help

Good morning and happy Saturday,

I need some help with a mare and if the Vet is monitoring. . .this might be for you.

I bought a mare in Oct that was in pasture w/stallion from Jan - Oct last year. I do not think the seller thought she was bred as this was a breeding with his newely purchased stallion. Anyway, took her to vet yesterday for preg check. . ."there is a baby there !"

Yeah !!!. . . . .but the vet could or would not tell me WHEN due. All she said was "It is right there, watch her. The head is "in the crown", feels nicely formed and solid" OOOKKKKAAAYYYYY. .. .what does this mean, she is due in the next few days????or next month ????? I could not get an answer, just "watch her" I have her at a friends on a monitor just in case.

She has no bag at all. She had been on pasture as I did not think she would be due within next few months. She was not showing anything. She has really gotten big over the last few weeks. She is a 35" AMHR mare bred to a 30" AMHA stallion. Vet suggested domperidone gel for her to help with milk production since she has been on fescue pasture and hay. . . .okay. . .

But still do not know when baby is due ?????

Thanks for your input,

Sheryl

That one is tough-sounds as though the vet thinks she may be due within the next couple of months though. We had mares on fescue one year by accident (it was a small amount in our hay that had gone unseen) and we had a lot of problems. Mares not producing milk when they should, really late foals, a LOT of dystocias (4 of 6), and 2 red bags. So you are really going to need to watch her. Since she was on fescue, she could very well go a month longer than she normally would have (like mine did) and that may be once of the reasons your vet didn't want to say when she's due.

Unfortunately I don't think there is anyone that can give you any helpful estimate. Your vet has seen her in person & hasn't given you an expected due date almost certainly because she simply doesn't know.

Normally I would say just watch her closely for changes--making a bag is normally the best indicator, but since this mare has been on fescue she may not make a bag at all prior to foaling.

So--watch for other signs--watch for any change in position of the foal; you may be able to tell when the mare drops as the foal gets into position for foaling. Watch for changes to the mare's back end--she will get loose in the rear end; the muscles of her hindquarters will slacken and you will be able to lift her tail up more easily. Usually there is some resistance when you lift the tail straight up, but as the mare gets close to foaling slack muscles make the tail feel somewhat limp when you lift it up.

In case she does foal sooner rather than later I would suggest finding some colostrum to have on hand, in case she has none. Even with giving domperidone--that will bring on milk production, but I don't know as it does anything for colostrum?

kaprikorn said:

Good morning and happy Saturday,

The head is "in the crown", feels nicely formed and solid" OOOKKKKAAAYYYYY. .. .what does this mean, she is due in the next few days????or next month ????? I could not get an answer, just "watch her" I have her at a friends on a monitor just in case.

Click to expand...

"Crowned"

Medicine/Medical . (of a baby in childbirth) to reach a stage in delivery where the largest diameter of the fetal head is emerging from the pelvic outlet.

I encourage you to call you vet back and ask questions such as what does "in the crown" mean to him? Ask him if he feels that the mare should be "on foal watch" or if he feels she is still a month or more away. Ask him if you should be searching for a source of colostrum for the pending foal in case mamma is affected by the fescue. Your vet should expect these questions from you and should have pretty good answers that will help clarify your questions.

that term to me sounds like the birth is imminent !!!

I did ask her what she meant, she just avoided me and said "I'd watch her and get some domperidone" I could not get an answer to WHEN. .she was in a hurry and left to see another client. I was kind of upset that I could not get an answer. The mare is at a friend of mine and they put a foal monitor on her for this weekend until I can get more info on Monday. I am going to call another vet Monday and see if he can answer my questions(one that has more experience)he also keeps colostrum on hand.

This baby should be really nice, sired by World Champion Silver Meadows Skywalker, a black blanket appaloosa. Nice mare, too !

Will keep everyone informed and thanks for your input !

Sheryl

kaprikorn said:

I did ask her what she meant, she just avoided me and said "I'd watch her and get some domperidone" I could not get an answer to WHEN. .she was in a hurry and left to see another client. I was kind of upset that I could not get an answer. The mare is at a friend of mine and they put a foal monitor on her for this weekend until I can get more info on Monday. I am going to call another vet Monday and see if he can answer my questions(one that has more experience)he also keeps colostrum on hand.

This baby should be really nice, sired by World Champion Silver Meadows Skywalker, a black blanket appaloosa. Nice mare, too !

Will keep everyone informed and thanks for your input !

Sheryl

Click to expand...

Second opinion, asap

We will all be anxious to see pics of your new bundle!

Update on mare. . .

No foal yet . .she is getting domperidom gel to counteract the fescue toxins. She is starting to bag up now, eating good and on orchard grass. The muscles are starting to relax at her tail. She is on camera and a foal monitor. . .thank you Cherie of Blue Chip Miniatures. . my best friend!!!

Will keep everyone informed. . . now. . .appaloosa or not. . .colt or filly . . .

Sheryl

kaprikorn said:

Update on mare. . .

No foal yet . .she is getting domperidom gel to counteract the fescue toxins. She is starting to bag up now, eating good and on orchard grass. The muscles are starting to relax at her tail. She is on camera and a foal monitor. . .thank you Cherie of Blue Chip Miniatures. . my best friend!!!

Will keep everyone informed. . . now. . .appaloosa or not. . .colt or filly . . .

Sheryl

Click to expand...

Glad to hear she is making progress. for now, how about... Alive and healthy! And, then worry about color/pattern/sex. [Alive and healthy is all I care about this foaling season. Good thing, cause the ring test says 6 colts on the way.]

Can't wait. I love spots

Personally in my experience with my ex-broodie I was able to predict when she would foal not only by the normal symptoms (milk, vestible, bag, etc) but also WHERE the fetus was kicking.

When her foals were close I would notice them kicking VERY high up in her flank. This usually happened to her the last week of her pregnancy.

Here's a video of her 2011 filly kicking while in utero at 328 days (04/24/11). She foaled on 4/30/2011, 6 days later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRzoNYM2GiI

Now, I'm not saying that it happens with ALL mares, but it did happen with my mare more than once. Lol.

Thank you, thank you. That's something that I've never seen and since we're expecting our first and only this year, it's something that's good to know.

Well. . . .I am still waiting. . .vet said any day. . . over 3 weeks ago !!! Blaze is doing well, starting to bag up s.l.o.w.l .y . . .Cherie is seeing kicking at bottom. Mother nature is not done "cooking" this one yet

Hi Sheryl,

Let me explain the limitatons of an ultrasound. When the mare is in early pregnancy, less than 60 days, there are some characteristic signs of how old your foal (embryo) is. This is a great time to ultrasound as you can determine within a few days when the mare was bred.

As the fetus develops it gets harder to know how far along the foal is. Your veterinarian was able to determine that your foal was in the correct position as she saw the head and not the feet (great!). Your vet does not know exactly because it is very hard to determine, and virtually impossible with a rectal ultrasound. If she had an abdominal ultrasound, many years of experience ultrasounding miniatures, and just plain great luck, she MIGHT be able to give you a clue.There are so many variables as to the size that a "Normal" miniature fetus would be, that exact determination is virtually impossible.

I am in the same position you are in with a mare I bought that was in foal, pasture bred, and never ultrasounded until we brought her home. We know she is due this spring. We know she was first exposed to the stallion May 1st, we see a live foal on ultrasound.

We keep watching her and waiting. Since our mare has some small udder development we have chosen to keep her in our foaling barn.

Now we wait for her to give us an indication of when she is ready to foal.

Here are three ultrasounds showing embryo / fetal development:

Well. . . after months of waiting for a "soon" foaling pet vet, Blaze finally foaled this monring !!!! Both are doing great. Kaprikorn MayDay Skywalker. . .bay? colt with lots of neck and legs.

Now just one more to go for 2012.. .

Congrats! It was a long wait but looks to be well worth it! He's a handsome little fella!

Congrats! So glad he finally arrived safely!

First time I've read this thread.

Contrary to what one might think, palpating a foal beyond 5 or 6 months gestation feels about the same. Guessing the foaling date would be just that, a guess. I avoid answering the question also, as it usually just makes you look foolish.

On the other hand, the difference between a 14, 15, or 16 day embryo is able to be determined via an ultrasound and the difference between 30 and 40 day embryos can be determined via palpation.

I know this seems counter intuitive, but its the way it is.

Congrats on the new baby.

Dr Taylor

congratulations , your beautiful baby was worth the wait